Fourteen-year-old C. J. Jackson never imagined that a red irritated spot on his
leg could turn into a life-threatening disease. But two months after he first
discovered what looked like a bug bite on his right knee, he was fighting
for his life in a Georgia hospital. His body temperature soared to 42 degrees Celcius
(107 degrees Fahrenheit ), and he had severe sepsis- an often-fatal condition in which
disease-causing microorganisms have overwhelmed a person's blood.

Although C. J.
and his doctor didn't
know it at the time,
the red spot on his
knee was the first
sign that his body was infected with a dangerous type
of the microorganism Staphylococcus
aureus. Skin infections of this bacterium
are relatively common and can
usually be cured with antibiotics.
But the strain of staph that had
infected C. J. was different. Called
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA), this strain of staph
has built-in defenses against many
of the antibiotic medicines that exist
today. As a result, MRSA (commonly
pronounced MUR-suh) infections are
difficult to treat.

The bacteria often spread from a
person's skin to other
parts of the body. “Once
it gets in the bloodstream,
the infection
can be very severe and
even fatal,” says Dr.
Robert Daum, an infectious-
disease specialist
at the University of
Chicago.

Fortunately, C. J.
survived his bout with
MRSA. Now, he is joining
scientists in trying to spread
awareness of the disease. There's
good news in C. J.'s message: By
following simple steps, most MRSA
infections can be avoided or stamped
out before they become deadly.

EMERGING THREAT

Just 10 years ago, MRSA infections
were rarely seen in healthy people
like C. J. But doctors have recently
been reporting more and more outbreaks around the country. “MRSA is
now the most common cause of skin
infections in the United States,” says
Jeffrey Hageman, an epidemiologist
who studies the spread of diseases
for the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).

Studies are also showing that C. J.
is part of a population that is particularly
at risk: athletes. In sports like
football and wrestling, athletes are in
close contact with each other, making
it easy for MRSA to spread from one
person to another.

POWERFUL DEFENSE

Like the bodies of
all people, those of
athletes are covered
with bacteria. “There
are billions of bacteria
living on each of us,”
says Daum. And about
one in three people harbor
one or more strains
of staph bacteria on
their bodies.

A much smaller percentage of
people-about 0.8 percent-carry
the MRSA strain of staph. MRSA
bacteria have a specific gene, or a
segment of DNA, called mecA. This
gene arms the bacteria with weapons
that fight against the most commonly
prescribed antibiotics, such as penicillin
and cephalosporins.

STOP THE SPREAD

MRSA bacteria can reside directly
on the skin. So an athlete who is carrying
MRSA bacteria on his or her
skin can easily pass it to other players
through skin to skin contact.

C. J., who plays football and baseball,
doesn't know if he got the MRSA
bacteria from contact with another
player. But to be safe, he now follows
simple steps to avoid another infection.
He doesn't share towels or even
bars of soap-which may harbor the
bacteria. “Good sports hygiene is the
most important thing,” he says. “It's
important to always take a shower
after playing.” That will wash off any
bacteria that may have been picked
up during practice or a game.

WHEN MICROBES ATTACK

Even if people get MRSA bacteria
on their skin-it doesn't necessarily
warrant a trip to the doctor. The skin
provides good protection against any
harmful effects of the bacteria. But when there is a break
in that barrier-such as
a cut or a scrape-the
bacteria may infect
the wound and start to
destroy tissue.

“Areas where infections
often occur are
abrasions from playing
football or slide tackling
in soccer, or mat
burns in wrestling,” says
Hageman. Now C. J. is careful
to keep his cuts and scrapes
covered with a clean bandage
so that bacteria can't
enter the wound.

If bacteria do enter the
skin, the first sign of infection
is usually an irritated
or pus-filled spot that may
resemble a bug bite. If a
MRSA infection is caught
at this stage, it can usually
be cured by removing the
infected skin or by taking
certain antibiotics that are
effective at killing off the
bacteria.

But if the infection is
left untreated or treated
with antibiotics that are
ineffective, the bacteria can
continue to spread through
the body. In C. J.'s case, the
bacteria invaded his bloodstream
and entered his
bones-a condition called
osteomyelitis. “It was eating
into my bones from the
inside out,” he says.

To rid his body of the
bacteria, C. J. had to take
strong antibiotics for nine
months. And because his
bones were injured from
the infection, he needed
physical rehabilitation to
build up strength to
even walk again.

SPREADING THE WORD

To help teens avoid an experience
like his, C. J. and his mother
have been sending materials to local
schools about MRSA and how to
avoid it. At the same time, scientists
like Daum and Hageman are informing
the health-care community to
watch out for MRSA. “It's something
we didn't think about five years ago,”
says Hageman.